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We Tried (Insert Media) and It Didn’t Work
By chris | November 21, 2006
As a marketing coach, I have been given many unsolicited tips about marketing over the years from ministry leaders. It seems everywhere I go, people have opinions about what will and won’t work. “We tried radio. It was the biggest waste of money we ever spent” and “I would say radio has been our greatest success”. Or the classic, “Door-to-door is just not effective in our community. People don’t want to be bothered. That’s why we have never tried it”.
“We decided to forego your advice to use multiple media channels in our marketing plan after we talked to a preacher who told us these 3-D door-hangers were the best he ever used. We could only afford to buy enough to use them once” I love that approach—when you don’t have enough money, spend it all at once on a shot in the dark recommendation from a guy in a totally different context! Let God sort it out.
Personally I like the ever-present recommendation, “We don’t do any advertising, we use word of mouth”. I always say,” That’s great! Word-of-mouth is the greatest form of advertising. Tell me, when people talk about your church, what to they say?” They always stare at me blankly.
People are always looking for short-cuts in media too. “Hey how much response should I count on if I sent out 20,000 post cards—its 2% right? So, we can get 400. Wahoo!” I always say, “It depends on the copy on the card. For example, if you are offering a suitcase filled with $20 bills—you should get near 100% response. On the other hand, if you are offering a flaming bag of liver-expect a next to 0% response rate” (I know, I have a sarcastic side 
)The great myth out there about media (and marketing tactics) is they somehow automate response.
Too many people treat marketing as a program and not as a process. I fear the heightened interest in marketing we see these days is from churches who believe marketing is a program. “Let’s try some marketing!” There are plenty of people to help them confirm their biases. It seems in some quarters that marketing is more about what you look like, than how you plan. They put more emphasis on program than process.
Here is it is, the truth about marketing—it doesn’t work! It can’t. That is because marketing is not a program, it is a process. And more than that, it is a way of thinking that, when applied properly, yields better communication. In many cases better results–in all cases, better ministry. Marketing works when people work marketing.
The Great Disconnect in Marketing
Each year, millions are spent in outreach in churches. Yet the effectiveness crisis continues year after year. Some researchers estimate 70% of churches are plateaued in growth. Seventy two churches close their doors each week in the United States according to the North American Mission Board. All this while marketing activities are up. Some churches are busting at the seams—with transfers from other churches. Where is the outreach to the unchurched?
No wonder people are critical of marketing in the church. It seems to be contributing to the problem! Here’s what they say adapted from John J. Considine’s work “Marketing Your Church. Concepts and Strategies”
Marketing Wastes Money!
Not necessarily so. Marketing, properly planned, is an investment. I find it is much easier to get a church to spend $18,000 renovating their bathrooms, than it is to get them to invest in media to reach people. They want the $10,000 dollar covered awning by the back door, and the $100 dollar website. Marketing is not the only way churches can waste money—see also single-purpose gymnasium nobody can wear shoes in, for more information!
Marketing Invades Privacy, Bothering People Who Want to Be Left Alone
When you know your audience, understand their needs and offer them something they perceive as a solution to their life situation, the marketing is invisible to them. As long as you are polite and respectful of them, that is. I have never heard people say, “Stop offering me great things I really need!” The problem is we usually show up with something that they don’t feel they need. Hey, we need to bother people anyway—they are going to HELL. Time to yell, “FIRE!”
Marketing Manipulates People
Actually, marketing is intended to persuade people, like the Apostle Paul did. We leave manipulation to the TV Evangelists. Your church shouldn’t try to control people in the way you communicate. If you do, it won’t take long before people figure you out. “Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!”
Marketing is Not Sound Leadership Since You Pander to What the Masses Want
Some marketers do this, so I see they have a point. Some leaders do stick their thumb out in the wind to see what is popular. These are also the ones who run down to the Christian bookstore or denominational office to see what the latest programs are. It is ungodly to pander to the masses. Godly leaders are polite leaders, they want to know what people need, how what they do affects them, so they can become more responsive to them.
I have heard this criticism usually come from certain theological camps that don’t really do outreach anyway. They have a theological criticism for everything. Their churches are usually dying and have very little witness in their community. Eventually, you have to ask yourself, if nobody is following, are your really leading?
Marketing Yields to Consumerist Attitudes
This is another verse of the chorus above. Yes, indeed some marketing has become consumerist. For the most part this mentality feeds the transferring of members from one church to another. One church gets a good program going, and then the one down the street gets a better one and begins to market it.
In my opinion, the reason we have such movement from church to church is not because churches are intentionally trying to attract other church members (maybe some are–and shame on them!), but because they only know how to speak to church members. They attract them by default. They don’t understand the lost.
If churches were attracting droves of unchurched people and exposing them to the gospel, I wonder what the problem would be? What we all find disagreeable, is the huge church that grows..err… huger.. by getting people to change their memberships.
Marketing is a Business Discipline, and We All Know Things from the Business World are Evil
I don’t know why we think ideas that come from business are evil. I can think of several business disciplines I am glad most churches use. Budgeting is a business discipline, and we use it to help us be better steward of our money. Time management is a business discipline, and we use it to be better stewards of our time. Marketing is a business discipline, and we need to use it to be better stewards of our communication.
Business disciplines are not evil, they are neutral. It is the person who uses it that makes it good or evil. Bad people do bad marketing—and bad money management—and bad time management. Marketing is what you make of it.
In the morning we’ll look at what are the benefits of marketing…
Topics: Theology & Marketing |
December 18th, 2007 at 6:30 am
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